By: John M Jerva

It’s Christmas Day and my family is finally done shredding open their tons of presents and even though I’ve taken a few days off for the holidays, I figured I’d send some holiday cheer to everyone in the form of a special Action Fix.

When we all think of Christmas action movies, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon always take the lead. There are some lesser known action titles that take place during this joyous season and one of my other favorites is the Dolph Lundgren driven Sci-Fi action spectacle known as I Come in Peace AKA Dark Angel depending on where you live.

From the year 1990 and director Craig R. Baxley (Stone Cold, Action Jackson), I Come in Peace stars Lundgren (who is still sporting his Punisher black haircut) as renegade police detective Jack Caine who must team up with straight laced FBI agent Arwood “Larry” Smith (Brian Benben) to bring down a drug dealer who as it turns out is not of this world. Regular genre baddie Matthias Hues stars as Talec, the intergalactic drug dealer who carves an impressive path of death and destruction as he is on a mission to harvest his drugs from humans. As it it turns out, we have that special ingredient that really makes the drugs sing. For some reason, that is never fully explained, Talec utters “I come in peace” every time he’s about to kill some poor human to extract his drugs. It’s still cool and I love that title for the film as it’s catchy.

I saw this film in the theaters when B level action greatness like this still came to the big screen and it is a 91 minute barrage of 90’s action and damage with Lundgren proving at the time that he was the next best thing in action. It’s got a great score, exhilarating fight sequences and terrific chemistry between Dolph and Brian Benben which leads to numerous humorous moments in the film.

Fun fact: Lundgren knocked out a stuntman cold with a roundhouse kick because the stuntman missed his mark which led to Lundgren connecting with the signature martial arts move. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to get hit with one of Lundgren’s tree trunks. I’m sure he had a headache or, worse yet, a concussion after that unfortunate experience.

Today, on this special occasion, I thought I would share the big finale where Caine and Talec go mano a mano. After all, this movie does take place during the holiday season and there’s several mentions of it during the running time so there you go…it’s a Christmas movie.

The climax is satisfying for genre addicts and Lundgren gets to show off his signature skills in the martial arts which he is known for. Hues gets plenty of chances as well in one of the first of many screen appearances as the main villain in an action movie. I miss this era and going to the cinema to see these types of films but we still have memories and these same pics to enjoy on the big screen at home.

Let me also point out that I’ve now interviewed both action stars for my site which is pretty friggin’ cool and a true honor as a dedicated action film buff. You can check both exclusive chats out below!

Matthias Hues Interview: https://wp.me/pb0Nye-4H

Dolph Lundgren Interview: https://wp.me/pb0Nye-6KR

So with that I say Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays. I’m going to go binge eat on holiday food and yes I’m wearing my stretchy pants so enjoy the classic fight scene in the player below!

“I Come in Peace!”

“And you go in pieces, Asshole!”